Wow, really stretching with that title. Andorra is only the sixth smallest country in Europe, at 181 square miles. Vatican City, San Marino (Italy), Monaco, Malta, Liechtenstein, are the first five.
The flag: "The design is related to the flags of France and Spain, the two states that protect the independence of the small country. A flag of three bars is similar to that of the French Tricolor, while the pattern of a wider middle stripe can be noted on the Spanish flag. The motto in the coat of arms in the middle stripe Vitus Unit Fortior means 'Strength United is Stronger'." Andorra Flag Wiki
We spent exactly one night, on our way out of Cerler and back toward Barcelona. It is not a straight line from Point C to Point A, so we purposefully went out of our way in order to hang out in Andorra for a day; how could we not? So close to such an odd and hard to get to place, it was irresistible.
Andorra is a landlocked micro-state in Southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It has an estimated population of 85,000, but survives as a country based on its tourism industry (over 10 million visitors annually), and, historically, because of its status as a tax haven, although it is in the process of reforming its tax regime. It is not a member of the European Union, but the euro is the de facto currency. It has been a member of the United Nations since 1993. Fun Fact: the people of Andorra have the 3rd highest human life expectancy at birth in the world at 84 years. So, apparently a healthy place to live. Wiki
Ultimate! Shopping! Destination! It also has ski slopes, and the capital city, Andorra de Vella, has some lovely spa/thermal bath type locales for hanging out après-shopping, one supposes.
Our trip to Andorra was relatively well thought out, but ultimately executed poorly. We were so close, flying out of Barcelona, that we decided that our last night, instead of hanging with the Huesca gang would be spent in sunny Andorra. It did occur to me that dragging the children away from their friends might result in rebellion, but I honestly figured that after a week of skiing, it was possible we would be loading a pair of un-resisting zombies into the rental car.
This was not the case. We needed to leave Cerler by 3pm in order to make it to Andorra before dark, and it was tough. They did not want to leave (there was still an hour of skiing! Wahhhhh!!). We tore then apart, promising to make a trip this summer before we head back to the US, crossing our fingers that this will be possible, and drove through the Pyrenees to Andorra.
And, there we were. Basically just past sunset. Nice view, but the original thinking had been that we could tour the capital a bit, check out the Old Town, find a nice place to eat. This was not to be.
We did see this cool light! up! stop sign, the likes of which I have never seen before. So, that was neat.
But would I call this a satisfying trip to Andorra? No, not really.
We got up bright and early on Sunday morning, so bright and early it was before our hotel would serve us brekkie. No coffee. So early it was before we could even get a coffee at the petrol station. Sniff. All in all, not the optimal travel experience. Life is nothing if not series of learning experiences.
Our bags were packed, we were ready to go, and head for home.
Where we barely fit in the lift. Skiing requires way too much luggage in my mind.
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